“When you have a closed-end vehicle and where you have a tied contract you are very unlikely to come off better than the manager in the long term," he says. “You’ve got to play the odds and the odds are you won’t be better off."

Parsons believes the trust’s model is inherently flawed. “You can’t serve two masters," he says. “You can put corporate governance protocols in place but . . . the manager is there to serve itself."

He says the only solution is to privatise all externally managed REITS, otherwise we end up with “sub-optimal results".

Parsons has little time for what he describes as the “self-serving" objections of the controversial former Macquarie Group banker Bill Moss, of Moss Capital, whom the three activist hedge funds want to install at Charter Hall Office REIT.

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“The longer we go on having these arguments, we are going to end up with inferior long-term results," he says. “That is the fundamental issue."

Up to 30 per cent of A-REITS are externally managed compared with almost 80 per cent a decade ago.

Parsons concedes there has been a transformation in the sector, but doubts the industry will ever be completely rid of the vehicles. He also acknowledges internally managed trusts are not immune from the vagaries of the market.

So his second cardinal A-REIT investment rule is to focus on good corporate governance.

“This is a critical issue," he says. “If you get your corporate governance right, you’ve got a good chance of delivering good returns.

Ultimately, he believes the richest pickings lie overseas. “The problem is that the talent pool in this economy is too small," he says. “We invest globally and we struggle to come up with 50 great names so anyone who thinks there are 15 to 20 good [REIT] managers in this country is kidding themselves."

Two of the best-performing stocks for Parsons in recent years have been the UK groups Hammerson and Land Securities.

He refuses to give stock picks but his favoured A-REITS, all internally managed, are Goodman Group, Cromwell Property Group and the pub landlord ALE. He notes that Goodman’s dilutive raisings during the crisis had “sullied" management but points to the solid value in the burgeoning logistics business.